This area doesn’t have many muskie options, however, if you want to target muskie, Lake Vermilion is a good lake for muskie with some absolute giants being caught year after year.
Lake Vermilion (West End)
The west end of Lake Vermilion is about a 25 minute drive from Orr, Minnesota. This part of the lake has clearer water and is much better if you’re here during windy conditions. This end of the lake doesn’t have as much offshore structure as you will find on the east end, but there are still plenty of islands here to go along with bays, points, neckdowns and many other areas to fish. With the clearer water, the weeds grow deeper on this side of the lake. The west end is also known as being better for largemouth bass and crappie, however, you will still find some walleye, northern pike, muskie, smallmouth bass and perch on this side of the lake.
Go to our Lake Vermilion Fishing page to learn more about the fishing here.
Using Leaders for Muskie
Muskie have some serious teeth. Use quality steel leaders to avoid bite-offs. If you are fishing clear water, you may need to go with a fluorocarbon leader to get bit. Most anglers will not go any lighter than 100 lb. fluorocarbon for muskie and don’t be shocked if you lose a big fish due to a bite-off. Some anglers go as heavy as 140 to 150 pound fluorocarbon. Ideally, you want to be as stealthy as you can so you can get more bites, but if you go too light with the fluorocarbon, you risk losing fish and possibly killing some big fish due to the lures getting stuck in their mouths.
Best Baits for Muskie
There are many types of baits to target muskie. Anglers don’t have as many options when using live baits since many of the fish that muskie eat can not be used as bait. Suckers and big chubs are usually the best options for most anglers that want to use live bait. For artificial lures, there are a variety of big baits to throw. Most anglers fish with bucktail spinners, some type of swimbait, topwater lure or jerkbait when chasing muskie.
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Best Rigs for Muskie
There aren’t too many different rigs for muskie fishing because you only have so many options for throwing some of the gigantic baits needed. Also, most anglers use lures for muskie or big sucker minnows, so you really don’t need too many rigs to target muskie. However, there are still several rigs you should know about, especially if you are going to be using live bait.
The Carolina rig, drop shot rig and quick strike rig are some of the best rigs for muskie.
Best Techniques for Muskie
Anglers use a variety of techniques for muskie. Casting is most popular, but jigging and trolling are also very effective techniques. Learn more about some of the best techniques for muskie page.
Learn More About Muskie
Our muskie fishing section has tons of tips on the best lures, live baits, where to catch them and how to catch them.
Visit our muskie fishing website to learn more.
